Mad Alongside You
by Resucitated-Blue
Summary: Ivan, now no longer a nation, works for the one who brought the wasteland. He bides his time and waits for an opportunity to bring it down. At the very origin of the empire, he learns what turns a nation mad and that Alfred may have actually had a plan all along. Continuation from "Days of the Disaster" and another prequel to "How She Remembers". (Repost from AO3 account)
1. Chains Don't Need To Be Visible

A/N: THIS IS A REPOST FROM _MY_ ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN ACCOUNT. I might as well post most of the stories associated with this series on this site, seeing as I already have two on here.

As always, nothing here is meant to relate to real events etc... Everything is self-indulgent.

* * *

Ivan sighed as he awoke once more to the cold metal walls of his room. All the room was missing were bars and chains. Indifference moved him to get out of the covers in order to walk languidly across the room to his desk. Sometimes, even when all you had to do was get up, it still drained all of your spirit doing so. It was probably the room.

Posters of various bolded empire slogans were splattered across the wall. One of them (all of them) starred a sweet face, a gentle smile with fine blond hair. Indigo watched him. His own eyes, the darker shades of purple, traced the strong bolded letters along the bottom.

 ** _"Why would you want to fight against me?"_**

Ivan snorted. He had thought of the idea himself and it still sounded ham-fisted.

The incessant hum of the electronic security system ran in the background. He groaned as he stretched out all of his muscles and shook out the last remnants of sleep. Once he got off his bed, it folded up automatically and slid into the wall. His work desk replaced it soon after. An electronic screen began to fizzle as it popped out of its slot. An eager face appeared on it.

"Morning Vanya!"

"Morning, Alfred," Ivan said softly. He gave a gentle smile to the other on the screen. The blond returned with his empty brash grin.

It sometimes hurt to do this everyday, knowing that the other was barely there despite the smile. Maybe he will get through to him, Ivan tricked himself into believing again today. He hadn't for years. Still, he had to keep hope for the both of them.

Alfred then began to ramble off about today's news and his own schedule. Ivan barely tuned in. His mind wandered back to the old childish rants the other used to spout. He pressed away on his keyboard, shrinking the chat window on his screen. The man then began to search through his files for his work.

Among the things he missed hearing about were those video games, movies, and _heroes_. Impossible questions lined up with imaginative dreams. So complex, yet simple in the heart. Now, it was all about weapons, experiments, and yet another way to efficiently get rid of those disdainful scum that tainted his brother's empire. Kill them all. Such, was more tiresome to hear.

He gave an indifferent hum to make the other believe that he was still avidly listening. As much as he liked Alfred being passionate and aggressive, there was only so much of this he could take, heart and all. He kept at it though, pausing when appropriate, again to keep the other happy.

Stable.

Then, finished with checking his folders, Ivan stopped typing at his keyboard and opened his desk drawer. Still, he gave another noncommittal response once in a while. In the drawer, he would find his tools. Pencils, rulers, paper. He slipped off their protective casings as he arranged them on his desk.

Perhaps he should be grateful he wasn't out there. Families, like his, were torn apart and destroyed. Relations, like his,were twisted around for another's goals. Worlds, like his, were shattered away into artificial places of 'sanctuary' from the war-torn wasteland. Then again, that's not to say his work didn't play any sort of role in these atrocities.

"Soo, how's your next project coming along?"

"Good," he replied as he nodded to the screen again. Another drawer was opened and Ivan pulled out the outline he completed last night.

Upon seeing it again this morning, Ivan decided he would start inking the prototype today and then get to observing the 'good citizens'. He hated working with those other officers. Cruel laughter outright possessed those men.

Much like Alfred, who was in charge of developing weapons for the empire, as an ex-nation he had his place.

Ivan's department was Propagan-er 'Morality' and general upkeeping of the Selfish-er 'Incentives for Progress System'. Not enough power to rebel, but enough power to experience guilt for what he was doing. Leave it to the puppet master to know how to set up his strings well.

Alfred went on talking and Ivan decided to try listening in again.

"-Honestly, I don't know why Matt put you in charge of that artsy junk. You would definitely be better in the technology department with me." He winked deviously, "Big guy, you do know your weapons."

Ivan felt himself blush a little, "I assure you, I am alright with my position." He frowned as he saw the other's smirk. His own reply kept cool, "Not like that Alfred."

A pout. "No fun," the younger blond replied.

"You should get back work. You have that meeting with the strategy leaders later, yes?"

Alfred rolled his eyes, "Yeah…yeah...See you later then, babe."

He grinned then blew a kiss to the screen. Ivan reached to 'catch' it and held it close to his heart. The other man fizzled out. The older man's shoulders then relaxed. He looked to his hands and sighed tiredly.

Enough of that, he scolded himself. He had work to get done.

After he made sure to tape the paper down, he pulled out his pen to begin working. Thick bolded outlines, dark contrasting shadows and eye catching palettes were a check. Make sure the message pounded into the heads of all of those who passed it. Minds should not be able to think about anything else.

And above all else, never make it look like death. Keep it happy. Pull people in with promises of betterment. Trick them into believing that there was freedom in what they do, twist the world around.

 ** _"Look out at the wasteland. Look at the savages."_**

Remind them that where they are in the best situation.

He placed the finished product into a brown folder. He would make some copies later. Ivan felt disgusted with himself as he stared at the covered poster. Perfect. Just the right feeling he should feel for his next task.

He buttoned up his Empire required uniform, red scarf included as the Empire's leader had decreed for him especially, and walked outside his room. Ivan glowered at the officer that greeted him outside.

"Braginsky, sir!" The human saluted and held out a black tablet, "Your agenda for today!"

He winced at their yelling, so early in the morning too. The rat always loved sending him the loud ones. "Thank you," he said as pleasantly as he could. The officer nodded and ran off quickly, shivering. Ivan shrugged.

"North American district?" he muttered as he skimmed his orders for the day.

Odd. Usually, the rat dealt with all the issues on that side of the world himself. Ivan smiled a little. Seems like the east was giving the rat more trouble than he had anticipated. He frowned. That would, however, mean that he had lot less time to finish up.

With a quick swipe, he looked over again the rest of the things he needed to complete. Then he tucked away the board into his inner coat. Tightly, he adjusted the scarf over his mouth to cover up his expressions. Time to spread misfortune.

* * *

Lunch came faster than he had expected. As he walked down the hall, he passed a familiar but not friendly face in an overly-stuffy military outfit.

"Ivan," the brunet acknowledged with a nod.

Ivan returned the nod politely, "Toris."

The wonders the rat's rehabilitation methods accomplished. The young man had wanted a strong strategy leader, familiar with the European methods. He got one.

At the very least, Ivan should be glad that their methods had never worked on him. Rather, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. Vividly, Ivan saw a flash of the events two years ago.

Soldiers surrounded them with their guns pointed. He was still bleeding from the last fight and Alfred had looked so confused. Ivan never had a chance to speak with him before they shoved him into that machine.

Then, the Alfred he knew was gone and Ivan was left alone to see the world for what it was. After getting his food, he searched around the packed cafeteria. No Alfred. He went to sit down at his small empty table in the corner. Somehow, it was always the quietest place to be in the cafeteria.

 ** _Badump. Badump._**

He placed his hand on chest for a short moment.

Although it was impossible, Ivan swore he could almost feel the scarred bulge on his heart, where he had to implant the electronic chip that had saved his mind. The man lowered his hand and shook away the thoughts. He ate very quietly by himself.

Once he was finished, he headed towards the hangar where they kept the planes. Part of him debated whether or not to drop Alfred a visit before he left. The other's workshop would be right around the corner. The corners of lips lifted as he made his turn, taking the long way around. Oh, he just couldn't resist.

He let himself through the back and knocked rapidly at the door from the inside. He eyed Alfred's form near the center and then hurriedly ducked away.

"Who is it?" The man called out, not looking up.

Ivan took his chance to sneak up behind him. Only a step away, his head was quickly met by the cocking of a gun to his forehead.

"Babe, I love you but you know I don't like people barging in here while I'm working."

Ivan huffed. In spite of Alfred earlier procrastination, the younger man was in his working mood again. The silver haired man couldn't help but chuckle at the complete change since this morning. Attitude whiplash.

Sensing his threat was being dismissed, the blond pushed the gun closer, "I _will_ blast your brains across this floor."

"Would you now?" Ivan teased.

"I will bury you six feet under and then bring you flowers everyday." The blond sighed, turning slowly. Not lowering his gun at all. "Sunflowers, of course."

"And wild country roses for you."

A smile crawled onto the other's face, "What do you want?" At last, he lowered his weapon and placed it back where he pulled it out.

"Nothing. I am simply letting you know that I am leaving for the Empire's central states."

 _North America. Your home._

Alfred grimaced, "How long?"

Ivan tilted his head, "Why? Are you going to miss me?"

Instead of speaking, Alfred gestured for him to come forward. Ivan leaned down but then suddenly he felt a spark of pain in his arm. Automatically, he swung his arm to punch back but his hand was caught, inches away from the other's jaw.

"You'll get one when you get back."

Ivan pulled back his fist away and crossed his arms, "A punch or a kiss?"

There was a wink and then the blond turned back to his worktable "Now shoooo! I've got things to work on, remember?"

The older man wished him luck and strolled to the exit. Just before he turned the knob, he paused. He looked back. A thought suddenly appeared on his tongue, a plea sprouted from his mind. Swiftly, he turned around to speak-

 _Please, come with me._

-But he didn't and walked out.

Thousands of miles away in a plane, Ivan went through his folders and notes to see what he needed to do. The country was so familiar and foreign to him, more than it ought to be. He turned his head to the window. Pure white clouds floated past as the plane flew through them, a background to that bright clear sky. The silver-haired man sighed as turned away and leaned back into his seat. His bones felt heavy here too.


	2. The Mindless Do Not Apologize

A/N: Again, this is a repost from my archive of our own account. Just keeping this series of stories together and complete wherever it's hosted.

* * *

What stuck out for Ivan the most, as he stared out of his window to the farmlands below, was that they were not scorched black. The wreckage of America's lands was less severe than anything in Europe. Where the rat mercilessly destroyed the fertile earth in his home, he seemed to have purposefully missed here. The reason could have been strategic, as to provide him valuable resources later on, but it still felt off.

No matter. Wrecked farms or not, America's lands, now called Central District #2, were still a very beaten up place.

Here, people were mindless. Rehabilitation fell upon both the rebellious and the compliant. This was the testing ground for the original machines. His stomach flipped over the thought and his hands curled into fists.

Years ago, America's government had cut their ties with their personification by flat out exiling him. It was the only way to get him to flee to Europe. They had wanted to save him. However, they could not cut his connection with his people, only killing the young man himself could do that. So, many of their pains continued to be felt. Ivan saw in his mind the young blond shivering and screaming, as he anguished over the brainwashing of his people. The silver-haired man could still hear the sounds of the shattering mirrors.

Not that Alfred would remember that anymore. _Right now_ was the reality that had always been. Over a year of fighting against his brother had been smudged away. It wasn't Ivan who was affected, yet it hurt him all the same.

"Braginsky, sir?" A man asked as Ivan stepped down from the plane to pavement. He introduced himself as this state's highest officer in the Morality department. Ivan gave a confirming nod. The human held out his hand in expectancy.

Ivan painted on a smile and gave it a firm shake, "Thank you for meeting me here."

"Our actions always reflect the Empire," the man replied cheerily and began to walk, gesturing Ivan to join him.

"Indeed," he replied while trying not to outright gag. Ivan followed slowly beside, forcing the other to match his pace. "Let us get right down to business. I understand that you need help with tracking a group of...troublemakers?"

A frown reflected on the human's face but quickly the hospitality smile fought back and took its place, "...They started out as "troublemakers" but have become a bigger nuisance. At first it was mild offences, like defacing your brilliantly designed posters. As of late, they have turned to breaking into Luxury Levels way out of their credit balances. The hierarchy is being put into an enormous mess with them around! Production levels are going down!"

" _Breaking in?_ You did not say this in your report."

"I rather not worry the Great Leader. It's just a minor breach in the system. Something I'm sure you will quickly be done with."

Ivan nodded slowly, "We will see."

The silver-haired man was then led to a sleek black car, floating a little over an inch above the ground. His eyebrows raised a little. The European Districts were always a little behind the North American Districts when it came to technology. Ivan wasn't surprised by the homeland bias.

But to be _this_ further on ahead. Hovering cars, imagine that!

"Impressive, isn't it?"

"Very." A button was pressed and the door opened upwards, folding over the roof.

Both of them got inside, where even more futuristic technologies awaited them. A few robotic greetings were quickly chimed. The man continued with a wide, proud, grin, "Would you believe that this is only a prototype? Only five were made in this continent. I bet they have nothing like this overseas."

"Not at all." Ivan said, as he continued looking around. The organization of the gadgetry was well dispersed, not too cluttered or bare in any particular spot. The objects themselves appeared sophisticated. He had no doubt that what they could do would astound him. A flash of blue from one of the screens brought a thought to his mind.

 _Alfred would have loved to see this._

"If you're impressed by this, then look at this." The morality officer pulled out an oddly shaped pair of sunglasses. "Try them on."

He took them cautiously and put them over his eyes. Instantly, his surrounding transformed into a hot summer beach. He looked at his seat to that it had was now a white plastic chair. His shoes were gone and he swore he could feel the hot grainy said between his toes. The human across from him was now dressed in a Hawaiian shirt with matching shorts. However, once in a while static would ruin the delusion, as fitting as the truth of their own reality.

"That was very interesting," he said as he returned the glasses. "but I would like to get to work right away." He glanced outside the window, where the buildings blurred.

"Are you sure you don't want to rest in your room first?"

"No, take me to the main Morality office." Ivan replied, looking back. The other quickly nodded, tapped on something on their armrest and the electronic driver changed routes. There was no arguing or insisting in hopes of impressing him further. Unlike in Europe where people were motivated by credits, these people had little choice but to obey superiors.

Ivan turned his eyes back to the window. Broken minds was the cost of this luxury. He must not forget that.

Immediately, as he got out of the car, he was surprised by the small size of the building. Ahead of him stood some sort of converted postal office. It was nothing like the department skyscraper which he often visited in the heart of the European sector. He looked back to the car, then at the building again.

"That is it."

He took a step to side to make sure his perspective wasn't off.

"The Morality department is...this?"

"What's wrong, sir?"

"It is smaller than I expected."

"Well-," the man began as he put his hands in his pockets. "It's never needed to be bigger. The people around this side of the District #2 go here for posters, but never really anything major. Everyone's pretty content with working towards the Empire's goal. It is really only recently we have had bigger problems."

"Who is monitoring things? Where do the Morality Squads stay?"

"In their own homes, sir. Everyone watches each other and reports everything wrong. There is no need for a squad."

Ivan groaned and rubbed at the center of his forehead. No wonder there was a breech. Some free minds must have broken out and taken advantage of this lack of secret police. He bit his lip at a sudden realization. His job here was not to scare a group of rowdy pranksters. Knowing the nature of this place, how did he even think of something so mundane? Rather, he was here to crush the last remnants of free American spirit.

This mission was another test by the Great rat. Does he get rid possibly of the last hope he'll have to get Alfred back, or does he risk punishment? He pulled his scarf over his mouth and proceeded to stroll forward. He cursed the rat to an early grave.

Inside the building, Ivan was quickly greeted by a slew of cheery mindless faces before they quickly back to their work. He was glad he didn't easily shudder, despite being unnerved. A few faces stalled in looking away, the further cubicles on the left. He gave a curious look back.

"Oh, don't mind them. The Blank ones never cause any trouble." The morality officer said beside him.

" 'Blank' ones? " Upon mention of their name, all of the odd figures hurriedly returned to work.

"It's a side-effect of Empire Enlightenment. Some minds took it greatly to heart."

Ivan nodded and walked past them, trying his best to hide his shiver. Those deadened eyes still felt like they boring holes into him. These must have been the most mindless among the mindless. If he were a different nation, he might have even called them zombies.

One of them stood up from they were, notes in their arms and cut the path across of Ivan. It muttered a quiet sorry, then it hurriedly dashed off somewhere. Ivan tilted his head, watching the small figure leave. The mindless don't apologize. But before he could question the high officer about this, he was already at the front of the main office. A thick folder was handed to him. He sighed and took a seat on the couch on the side.

Ivan took out a small electronic device from his pocket to take notes. He flipped through them slowly. Faces were not given, but the clues were plentiful. He could pinpoint a good searching location within the hour and get it a plan sorted to carry out tomorrow.

* * *

"You never told me about your other projects," Ivan remarked to Alfred later that night.

The older man had finished up at the office hours ago and decided to get an early rest. Tomorrow, they were going to try to pounce on the offending group before they even woke up. He would have to put on his best show of cruelty.

For now, he was using the telecommunication screens set up in his room. Alfred was on the other side, looking amusingly confused by his earlier statement.

"Dude, what are you talking about?"

"The eye-visors? The hovering cars?" He elaborated. Alfred should have at least known about them.

"Oh! Right!" The face lit up in recognition, "I only helped out a little, mostly humans led those. They're so cool ri- Wait, wait. What are those doing _south_ of the border?"

"Pardon?"

"What are those fuckers doing with those technologies?"

Ivan chided himself and his shoulders slumped. Right. How could he forget? This Alfred hated his own people with an undying rage. Whatever happened in those machines, they implanted some sort delusional reason to hate them. What that was, the blond never revealed. There was nothing Ivan could do to convince him otherwise.

"The man did say it was hard to get them…"

"No one in District #2 should have any of those technologies...not after what they did to the world." He hissed out. "I'm going to talk with Mattie about it. The people did their crime and should continue to pay for it."

"Alfred, do not bother. That would not have any real effect…"

"...you're right. That's not enough. Maybe I'll get him to implement a scheduled power grid shut-down too. Remind those fucking betrayers for what they have to atone for. Are their productivity levels high at least?"

Ivan broke eye contact, unsure about what to say to avoid angering the other further.

"Lazy too, huh…" Alfred sighed and shook his head quickly. "I don't want to think about them anymore. Just get back here as soon you can, kay? I don't want you to get infected by them."

Click.

With a big oomph, Ivan fell back on his bed and stared upward at the blank ceiling. The empty whiteness reminded him of the 'Blank' ones. He thought about that one who had mumbled a small sorry at him that day.

He unraveled his long scarf and folded it up on his nightstand. He paused for a moment as looked over the deep crimson color and traced the soft fabric with his hand. Factory made. Regulation. It was so unlike his old pink scarf, which had been knitted by both of his sisters themselves. Questions about his sister's safety popped up in his mind.

The silver-haired man sighed sadly. Only Belarus was left now. Fortunately, she usually listened to him. As long as she remained in that hidden shelter then, of course, she would be fine.


	3. Bullet to the Heart

A/N: Again, this is a repost from my AO3 account.

* * *

 _ **CRACK!**_

"S-stop...please" The poor human croaked.

"Ufufu~" Ivan giggled and he pulled away his cane-shaped pipe. Blood splattered alongside the length of the piece of metal. "Are you ready to share the location of your friends?"

As if realizing what she had said, the woman shook her head and hissed, " _Never._ "

Ivan glanced over to the two officers watching the spectacle. They both gave him a curt shake of their heads. He turned back to the suffering woman. Ivan raised his pipe. She screamed as he shattered the rest of her left leg.

"YOU MONSTER!" she shouted. Her sobs twisted her face into an ugly mess.

In response, Ivan picked her up roughly by her collar and smashed her against the wall. His cold amethyst eyes glared at her. She let out choked sounds as he pulled her higher above the ground.

"Listen here, you little wretch." He spoke with careful articulation, "All we want is information, and we will let you go. It is a good deal. You get to live, and we track down the scum. Everyone is happy."

The woman squirmed and pulled at her neck, trying to get some air. Ivan relaxed his grip, enough to let her get a breath in. She spat in his face.

"I'd rather die than help the Empire."

Ivan sighed and shook his head. He dropped her and she collapsed on the ground. She coughed desperately as blood stained her teeth and the floor. He turned around and took a couple steps away. He wiped away the mess with his gloved hand.

"Why not cooperate? It is easier." He swung his pipe experimentally, weighing its feel.

"You wouldn't understand." The woman retorted, her voice thin and ragged with pain. "Monsters don't know lov-"

His pipe connected with her jaw, causing a large _crack_ to reverberate in the room. Ivan was surprised to hear himself quietly laughing as he turned. His steps towards her were slow. Those violet eyes glowed dangerously, like a nuclear chain reaction just getting started, and the woman trembled, creeping back towards the wall.

"Fine. We will have it your way."

He raised his pipe again.

* * *

With a concentrated look on his face, Ivan cleaned off the rest of the blood before hiding it inside his large coat once more. He tossed his gloves into a bag for burning. Traces of the interrogation had to remain a secret. Ignorance was key to keeping 'Morality' up. Triggers had to be kept minimal. The officers grunted as they lifted the bags over their shoulders, the corpses inside not even bothering them, more traits credited to brain-washing.

He exchanged a short conversation between the other officers. In the other interrogations, they had been luckier. They had a few leads out in the lesser sectors, industrial areas. Ivan divided up the task among themselves, taking up a section himself, then hurried his pace to exit the building. A car waited for him outside. He didn't want to be stuck here any longer.

Ivan had the entire state's department out looking. Five out of the original thirty-member group had been caught. Not only were people breaking free from conditioning, but they were capable of affecting others. Such could lead to a dangerous outbreak of rebellion. He grimaced.

Of course, it wasn't much of a threat. If anything got out of the hand, the empire was quite indifferent to dropping bombs, even on whole cities of their citizens. Over-kill wasn't a word that the rat knew. He ordered the chauffeur to hurry already. He looked through the rebel's group recorded agenda as he leaned back. After a few more times of reading through, he crumpled it up, opened the window and tossed it.

These naive groups never realized that they were doing more harm than good.

Considering the progress they had so far, the group was likely prepared for a chase. Ivan was impressed that they had managed to last this long. Even without active monitoring, usually these groups fell victim to their own undoing. Driven by ideals, they would pursue bigger and bigger heroic deeds. Like a match, rebels flamed up brightly but quickly burned out.

But why start fooling with the hierarchy now? Their interrogations revealed the group had been together for two years. That was too much time to organize themselves, only to be undone by reckless break-ins and juvenile offences. Something wasn't right.

The car stopped in front of an old apartment building. It wasn't not even to luxury level 1 standard. Parts of it were already crumbling down and it was obviously never going to be fixed, not in these outskirts. The man double-checked the ammunition in his guns. He slammed the door behind him as he casually marched up the path. Without even a shouted warning, he kicked down the door of the building and stomped inside.

A stampede fled up the stairs before he could glance at any of them. Someone shouted a warning to take over. Out from the reception desk, three people popped out with guns pointed. Ivan laughed. The three humans tensed as the ex-nation took another step forward.

"THAT'S CLOSE ENOUGH!" The center one shouted. He was a middle aged man, barely shaven. Judging from his clothes, he worked in the factories. "YOU ARE OUTNUMBERED HERE!"

The silver-haired man raised his palms in false surrender. He raised the pitch of his voice, "Can we not be friends?"

"I DON'T MAKE FRIENDS WITH MURDERERS!"

Ivan placed a hand on his chest in mock hurt, "Oh, how cruel. We have only just met."

"Fuck this!" The person on the left shouted and fired, but with a slight move to the side, the shot missed.

As expected. They were inexperienced fighters, idealists who had managed to get hands on a few automatics and ammunition. Ivan drilled six holes into the rebel before anyone could see him whip out the weapon. The short gasp and collapse of the human echoed in the room. Once the humans shook away their shock, they fired away at him, screaming their insults alongside their rounds. Ivan tumbled to the side and took shelter on a steel foundation.

He pulled out small flat disk from his inner pocket. He pressed the red center and tossed it to them. Three beeps. One explosion. Ivan left bloody prints while he walked up the stairs. The building was silent and Ivan hummed a short nostalgic tune to fill up the noise. His gun was out and ready in his hand.

He marched down the halls of each floor, peeking inside the room with child-like interest. By the third floor, he was thankful the building ended it on the fifth, stairs were not all that fun to climb. There was light evidence of any recent residence, or they cleared out much earlier. He was about to leave another generic apartment, when he heard it. There was a sniffle.

Instinctively, the man strolled right into the kitchen. Holding his breath and froze, he listened closely. Again, another sniffle. Noiselessly, he switched his weapons to a metal-piercing gun. Four shots fired into the cabinet underneath the sink. Grinding his teeth hard, Ivan looked away before the corpse rolled out.

His heart felt heavy as lead, as he heard the _tiny_ thud that followed. Before he gained the urge to check his assumptions, he left the room.

Ivan found nobody else in the building. Inside the car, he pondered if anyone had survived his search. He could imagine the look of relief on their face, believing that they would live for another day. They wouldn't realize until an half an hour later, that he had been their last saving grace, when the noxious gas would spread throughout, leaving not a single crevice untouched.

Knowing that letting out any tears over the outlaws would attract attention, Ivan could only grip tightly on his crossed arms as he was driven back to the state's headquarters.

Today had been successful, but not close enough to what Ivan needed. The leads today had revealed several more pockets of free minds. Officers in other states were being called in. Lucky for the ex-nation, a specialized group from the North was taking great interest and was willing to take charge. All he would have to do is clear the state, then he could shove the responsibility away, unless the rat felt like adding to his work. However, Ivan doubted that.

The only silver-lining to all of this were the flustered looks of all the Morality officers as they were crowded inside the small building. Conditioning hadn't prepared them for this kind of chaos. Poor humans were used to the few teenage kids who rebelled against everything. At least, though, they did have a trained clean-up crew. He would hate to have to deal with all the bodies himself.

"Russia!"

Turning around to the sound of his nation name, he found a 'blank' one waving at him. He walked towards them, they gestured him to follow and then ran. He looked to the head Morality officer, but he was distracted with ordering other officers. Without wasting another thought, he ran after them. The figure exited into the back alley.

In the chase, Ivan was brought out into the crowded streets. His height made it easy to spot the mindless human and shove through, but the other had a size advantage, so they were always a step ahead. At some point, the ex-nation was about to give up, as too many people were in the way. Yet, the 'blank' one waited for him to get through.

At last, he arrived at a building undergoing renovations. A chime dinged as he pushed open the door. He could no longer see the 'blank' one and so walked further inside. He then noticed the figure hunched over in a plastic chair, cradling something in their hands. Raising their head slowly, he was then caught in that unfocused gaze, realizing only later that a gun had been pulled out.

"How do you know my nation name?" Ivan asked, unperturbed by the danger.

"That woman you killed this morning...She had been dancer, you know." The 'blank' one remarked, ignoring his question outright. Their other hand joined to steady their automatic. The individual steadily rose to stand.

There was silent moment between them. Ivan swallowed.

 _Don't ask...don't ask...don't you dare..._

"What style?" the silver-haired man asked, unable to control himself.

"Classical ballet. I bet you don't even know what this."

Ivan curled his hands tighter, his dull nails digging into his palm, almost making it bleed. His voice came out a little strained, "I do." He took in a deep breath. "I thought 'blank' ones had no other thoughts than the empire."

There was a snort, "Blurred contacts. The brain-washed can't recognize a fake when they see one. It really helps to have someone on the inside to hide ourselves. You're different from them aren't you? We've had a few people visit from Europe before...but none of them like you."

Ivan tilted his head, amazed by their keen perception, "Do you understand what you called me?"

"No." The tone was genuine and this shocked the ex-nation even more. "-but I've been told that it would get your attention. Which it has. Works for me."

At these words, Ivan frowned. So, there was a bigger mastermind behind all of this. How tiresome. He might have guessed this whole mess was orchestrated by the Rat himself, but that was too much work for him to waste so trivially. No, it was probably just another human, born with the wrong talent, wrong time, and wrong hierarchy level.

"Tell me then, what is your plan?"

The human readjusted their grip on the handle, "Shoot you, then walk back as if nothing is wrong. The 'blank' ones don't have enough free-will for murder. No one will be the wiser."

Russia took a few steps to side. They circled. The silver haired man looked to ground and shook his head, "Shooting me will not help you."

"At least I did something that I chose to do."

BANG! Ivan let out a pained cry as he staggered back from the force of the shot. He looked down at his blooming wound. The individual had aimed for his heart.

He looked back the blank one. They were smiling, very satisfied and a gush of pity broke into the ex-nation's heart. Then, with a sudden cry of their own, the individual spasmed and collapsed. An officer was revealed standing right behind them. The body twitched on the ground.

"Are you okay, Braginsky, sir?" The officer asked, then rushed forward upon seeing his wound.

"I am fine," Ivan reassured. He breathed deeply as walked over to sit in the now empty seat.

He pushed the human away with one hand. Looking at his wound again, he took in a deep breath then shoved his hand into the bloody mess. His hands were as gentle as possible as he sought out the bullet. Ivan let out a ragged sigh as he dug it free. When he pulled out, the skin was already mending itself.

He surveyed the piece metal, discovering something odd about it. He quickly flicked his eyes to the officer and pointed to the body on the ground, "Call for clean up."

Dutifully, the officer looked away to call someone on their communicator. Ivan wiped off the bullet and stuffed it into his pocket. Several minutes passed until the person had been collected. A medic came to clean Ivan's wound but the silver-haired man refused a bandage. It was already healing anyways. The other officers insisted that he take a rest, at least for the rest of the afternoon.

He walked past the 'blank' one without a second glance. The silver-haired man felt parched. He pulled out his device and searched for the closest bars. His bottle was soon half-emptied by the late hour.

Ivan leaned back lazily, hardly even buzzed. The corner he had chosen was isolated and well-lit. No one paid mind to him, just as he liked it. Few people were in here as it was anyways. Drinking slowed productivity so rehabilitation did what it could to condition the habit away. He grunted as he swiped at the neck of the bottle.

He tilted his head and gulped another mouthful. It was never going to be strong enough. Bored, the man turned around the bottle to observe the label, not a brand he recognized. He looked up at the checkered tiled ceiling.

Going back to his room didn't appeal to him. He was too restless to even think about sleeping early. Besides, there was some pressing matters he needed to take a look at. He checked around the bar again, and once certain he wasn't being watched, he pulled out the bullet from earlier.

It was an abnormally long and fat bullet. Horizontal rings were engraved across the metal, along with four letters. O.P.E.N.

He turned the bullet around in his fingers. Instinctively he felt around the grooves, trying to twist it around. Click! The bullet broke in two, releasing a data chip to bounce on the table. As gently as he could, he picked the black piece up.

After further examination, an idea popped in his mind. He pulled out the electronic tablet-like device he always carried around. There were several different slots along its edges. Carefully, he compared the jagged edge of the chip with the structure of each slot. Much to his surprise, he found an exact match.

Almost happily, the device chirped and a loading screen flashed in the center. Ivan waited eagerly as the loading percentage rose. Not even thinking about a virus, he opened the decompressed file without a single moment's hesitation. Another hand reached for his bottle and he took another sip.

First, there was a typed up note. Two words. " _I know."_ Ivan placed this in the back of his mind, then swiped at the screen.

The next page was a scan of a beige folder with label in the center, words written out in thick black marker.

 **Observations of the Mirror Universe: Matthew Williams.**

So this was the rat's notes, he thought with derision and his interest took a dive. Despite that, he swiped again to turn the page. It was another scan, this time of someone's journal, the coil was evident along the cut edge. He let out a curious hum at the date stamped at the top. It was several months before "The Disaster". Ivan scrolled the page down a bit.

 _I've decided that it would be best that I record our interactions. Matt is calling me a nerd now. He's such a hoser, even if he is me. But not really. Seriously, that's never going to stop being weird..._

He stopped reading. What was this? He skipped ahead a few more pages only find they were only more scans of the same journal. From what he skimmed, he couldn't make any sense of it. Who was this Matt? What about what in the history books? With a roll of his eyes, Ivan exited out of the file, dismissing the words as the collected rambles of a madman.

Could be a good read later, he mused.

Ivan dragged the file to save it in a deeply hidden folder, hiding it from any inner system checks later. After doing so, he turned off his device and proceeded to finish the rest of his bottle. He did not have a damn to spend on the Rat at the moment. It would take more than a gunshot to the heart to make him care. Whoever was giving this to him had wrongly gauged his level of curiosity, and underestimated his tired mind.

Unable to think about anything else, flashbacks of the day flooded into his mind. With an exhausted wave, he called for another bottle.


	4. Insistently Pushing Buttons

During the day, Ivan felt like he was engulfed by a horde of little black beetles. His deeds, like the beady insects, multiplied and crawled over his skin, so that all he could do was to lock himself away in his mind. So small, but so many. His moral conscience only prickled at first, but eventually they would get to him, furthering his misery. But night was always an exception.

In them, it was always winter, killing off the pests of the day and bringing him to an empty, but peaceful field. His eyes looked out, admiring the glittery crystal around him. The snow was always soft to fall in. He loved it when he dreamed. He outstretched his arms and laughed, as he made snow angels in the ground.

Ivan could breath easy here. Little clouds formed with every exhale but when they flew to join the sky, that greyish sky would never completely darken. It shone brightly in here, though never quite blindingly, as if the dream was thoughtfully caring for him.

He never longed for the sun here. There was no need. Warmth, for him, was chained to the explosions of bombs, of fires from unceasing conflict, of the flourishing weather that bred those disgusting bugs. No, he rather be cold than let any of that in.

Nightmares from his nation past had always followed him. They were unforgiving and cruel in what they presented to him. Until, now. It remained a mystery for him ever since that first night under the Empire. He had expected to hear the screams continue, on and on, unable to stop. Instead, it was the clarity of this gentle quiet winter landscape that greeted him.

But even here, it could never be perfect, for he had long ago fallen in love with blue skies. His smile wavered thinking about him.

 _It doesn't have to be this way._

He awoke with a gasp. Ivan sat up with a jolt, clutching at his suddenly frantic heart. It had never beat this fast before. He inhaled deeply, to calm it down. Slowly and surely it did. A throbbing ache began to build in his head and he groaned. Maybe that fifth bottle hadn't been a good idea.

An insistent red blinking in his peripheral grabbed at his attention. He looked over to his side table. It was coming from his electronic device. With one hand he massaged his head, the other picked it up and unlocked it. Something automatically opened up unto the screen.

 **Unknown Sender.**

 **Message: Please, read it.**

Ivan narrowed his eyes, as he read the sentence over. Still partly asleep, it took a while before he understand what it meant. He glanced over to the clock at the bottom of the screen. It was far too early for this. He deleted the message and went back to sleep.

A few hours later, he awoke again, in a much less dramatic way. What hadn't changed was the red blinking light that came from device. He walked first to the bathroom and got ready for the rest of the day before unlocking it.

The message from earlier filled up the entire screen, each opened up in individual windows. He couldn't even see anything beyond them. Now more annoyed, he rapidly closed them all. Except for one. He clicked on a program on the side-bar.

As one of the higher-ups in the system, Ivan's device could trace any message sent to him on the network, no matter what the human used to mask themselves. Alfred had made sure that digital footprints were permanent. He set the device down to let it do its work as he got himself ready. When he returned it brought surprisingly very little information. No name, no device number. Just location.

"Old Alaska. So that is where you are hiding..." he whispered. That place wasn't what it exactly read, but he had picked up the habit from Alfred; the blond used to be very insistent about it.

The territory itself was another matter of historical change in this universe caused by 'The Disaster'. Among things, like unexpected battle victories and losses, this was another bizarre feature of this world. 'Old Alaska' was never his nor Alfred's. Ever. Surprisingly enough, the people continued on to develop their own form of civilization. He hadn't read far enough to see how the land ended up as part of Canada, but that was unimportant to him. He deleted the message one more time and blocked the sender.

He shrugged, put the device away in his pocket and wrapped his scarf around his neck. The hover car picked him up again. This time no one kept him company. Every state morality officer was kept busy, Ivan was no exception.

"Sir!" A mid-ranked officer rushed at him before he was even three minutes in the building.

Ivan pasted on his smile, "What is the problem?"

As the chaos of the day was explained to him, more and more documents were shoved into his arms. When he retreated into the head office and sat down on the couch, the papers had transformed into a small hill. What was left of the thirty-something group in the state, decided to respond with a counter-attack.

Equipment from the mines were stolen last night. Buildings installed with the latest computerized security systems were hack, trapping several citizens in their suites. The list went on and on. Each were miniscule tasks but altogether the job appeared overwhelming. He spent nearly half an hour making a checklist on his device.

As he looked through the papers, he thought about what Alfred had told him about not letting these people near new technology. He looked around. Each cubicle had a holographic screen, so it confused him that they were still printing things out.

He asked one of the officers about it, "Sir, only the highest of the citizens deserve access to the network. Any of us in the lower-levels would soil it with our messages."

"Right," Ivan responded as if he understood.

* * *

Ivan drummed his fingers against his crossed arms, as he looked out the window, waiting for the other officers to get a long enough ladder. Unfortunately, the hover-car prototype couldn't reach this height.

He glanced back at the two hooligans he had captured. They were tied up in their shirts, shivering pathetically and looking absolutely humilitated. Defiant to the end, they refused to look up. Their eyes had been blurred marking them 'blank' ones ,but like before, these too were faked.

Chasing after the two humans had been a strenous activity. As soon as they had arrived on the scene, the two bolted to the look out tower that watched over the mines. All the citizens that worked in the area had been given a break to clear the area.

When they broke apart the ladder, Ivan had to resort climbing desperately on the unstable sides. He wasn't very happy when he finally got inside. He made a note in his mind to weed through the 'blank' ones next. He sighed. Ivan would have to do that by himself too, furthering his stay here.

"You must think you are so clever." He said to them, still looking outside. Officers were stretched thin today, so he was going to have to wait awhile.

The man didn't expect a reply, and he didn't get one. He only wanted to pass the time so he went on, "Do you really believe that you were hindering the Empire at all? Things will be back to normal by the end of this day."

"..."

"It is pointless, all of this. You are only hurting yourselves. You could have lived happily hidden...at least you would have been safe, and your fellow humans as well. Why did you have to fight? Do you think that the Ra- " he coughed, "Do you think that the Empire is above bombing an entire city away even for a single free mind!?"

One of the humans whispered a question of doubt. Ivan snapped around to shoot them another threatening glare. The humans held an expression of shock in return. Something wet dripped onto his hand. He brought his hand to his cheek. Angrily, he ground his teeth and turned away to rub at his eyes.

"You're...not like them are you?"

Ivan refused to respond. Not again.

The second human joined in, sounding oddly relieved, "He's crying...I've never seen anyone working for the empire-"

"SHUT UP!" He roared at them.

He whipped out his metal pipe and hit the wall above both of them. Bits of drywall fell on their heads and they reverted back to the trembling states. That was not enough to satisfy him anymore. He turned the pipe around so the flatter end was pointed towards them. It was easier to scar people this way. He pressed it against the vulnerable flesh of their chest.

A giggle slipped from his lips, "Perhaps I should write freedom on your chest, because you are so impatient to get it. You will like that, yes?"

He pressed harder to draw blood. The human began to squirm and panic, only to increase their pain. The human's companion vomited their pleading, with how rushed it all came out. Ivan urged his arm to move.

And it was at this moment his device gave a clamoring buzz. He waited a few minutes for it go away, but it kept at it, like a stubborn fly around his head. Having never heard that sound before come from it, he pulled away his pipe. The humans both sighed.

Ivan pulled it out. Another pop-up window appeared on his screen, this time it appeared to be an open chat window this time. He took a quick check to the window again but he still alone. He turned his back completely to the rebels, covering his device with his large body.

At first, Ivan and the mystery person exchanged pleasanteries. The other refused to reveal any information about themeselves. He in turn held back on answering their questions about the state of his work. He was certain it was only to test the waters. Then, they jumped to the point. Either he read those scans they gave him, or they would double his work within this state. There was a quick promise that he would not be sleeping tonight.

 _"Oh really now?"_ He thought as typed back a threat of his own.

Ivan made a note in his mind to prioritize that alert he needed to send to the Old Alaska officers. He would get Alfred himself to track down the very source. Well-intentioned or not, this genius human was testing his patience. His jaw dropped at their reply.

 **Okay, here's a second option. Meet me in Old Alaska, then.**

He closed the chat window at this and thankfully it didn't pop up back again. By the time the other officers got to him, he had a gut feeling he would regret that. Hours later, the impossible happened. Ivan began to hate this mastermind, almost as much as the Rat.

The explosive mess lasted all night. All throughout the cursed night! Ivan formerly believed that all the nation's supply of fireworks were used up against the Canadian Invasion in its last desperate phase. After all, when it was war, you made do with what you had. He normally would not mind these explosions either, if he hadn't been the one that needed to calm everyone else down.

Brain-washed didn't react very well with shocking events. They were like frightened pets, staring at the greatest mysteries of the universe with wide-eyed terror, but occasionally poking at it. Ivan wished he could have laughed instead.

Nevertheless, it fell upon Ivan to reassure everyone that things were fine and to organize citizens to douse the flames. He was so glad that they were easy to order around, at the very least. The instant he got back into his hotel room, Alfred was waiting for him. Ivan was exhausted and all too eager to hear what the other had to say.

"I've got them!" He cheered, "Whoa, you look terrible!"

Ivan didn't unfurl his scarf, since he would sleep later. "Send me the information," he asked instantly.

"Aren't you going to let the other officers deal with it?"

He rubbed at his head. The fireworks were worse than his hangover this morning. "No...I need to personally punch this person in the face."

The blond lit up, "You're bringing your pipe right? You gotta mark them up of course!"

Ivan nodded away, and collected what he owned in the room, which wasn't much.

"Mattie's going to ha-"

"Please, do not tell your brother." Ivan interrupted hastily. "He is clearly too busy in the far east, is he not?"

"Oh, you're right! Of course! He's got me working like a dog over the weapon upgrades. You know how many changes I had to-no, I'll tell you when you get back, it's better if you see them work in person. Anyways, try to leave this guy alive enough for enlightenment! Despite being scum, those cover-up codes were brilliant!"

A little after four in the morning, Ivan boarded the plane to head out to 'Old Alaska'. He never hated intelligent humans, after all they made the future. He was never against free minds. They were signs of potential, of reminders that humanity still lived. However, this stubborn mystery sender, was forcing him to reevaluate these claims.


	5. Surrender and Accept Defeat

The first bad sign was the electronic jamming on all of his devices. He raised them higher to reconnect with the network but nothing showed up. Next, were the trails of smoke soon blocking up his window. Instantly, the nose of the plane dipped forward. The force shoved him hard into his seat. He unbuckled himself and shouted ahead for an explanation. No response.

Ivan, however, did not panic. All of his mind screamed that he should be worried, to show some kind of emotion. Or at the very least bolt towards the cockpit. Yet, he felt oddly calm, as if fear itself had frozen his own heart numb...which in fact it was.

Beats within his heart felt deliberately slowed, as if something was keeping it from speeding up. He gripped at his armrests as he struggled with his contradicting mind and body. He wanted to get up but his body was refusing. Why was it so calm?

While it should have been helpful that he keep collected to handle the emergency, his body needed the adrenaline rush. Without it though, along with his rapid breathing, his body struggled to get the oxygen it desired. Black encircled his vision, looming in every closer. He swayed as he forced himself to stand up. Within seconds Ivan collapsed back into his seat and he hunched over himself.

* * *

Ivan's world was covered with fire. Noxious fumes clogged up the nation's nose as he regained consciousness. He could already feel his body regenerate, though even at its heightened rate, it was still terribly slow. His eyes blinked slowly, in partial disbelief at the wreckage around him.

A twisted laugh would have come out if his throat had not been so parched. Having connections with the Empire, made his nation regeneration ability even stronger. He had learned that first hand many months ago. Alfred thought it was fantastic, now no longer limited to precaution in his work and life. Ahahahaha...nations can't just die!

He stretched his upper body. Ivan looked down and saw that all of his legs had been crushed. Muttering another curse he pushed at his armrests to pull himself out of the crushed debris. A deep muffled breathing and clattering metal came from behind him. A hazy dark figure made it their way towards him. From head to toe, they were covered in some hazmat-like suit.

His voice was too dry to call out to them. The smoke was getting too much for him. His eyes were watery and he let out a weak cough.

"Russia..." A familiar voice called out.

The last thing he saw was that glove hand reaching out, then he blacked out again.

* * *

"What is the head of the Morality department doing here!?"

"His plane fell from the sky."

"...You're kidding."

Softness brushed against Ivan's fingers as he moved his hand. Groggy and dazed, he fought to regain some sense of awareness. Murmurs beside him acknowledged him but he paid no mind. Very slowly, he pushed himself up. He took in a couple deep breaths while he tried to recall what happened in the past few hours.

Dark. Smoke.

"Fire…." he croaked out in realization.

His head then snapped to the humans watching over him and pointed to his throat. One of them rushed to get water. Although his mind was still woozy, his eyes instantly magnetized to their insignias. Canada's Empire again. A bittersweet relief rushed over him.

When he got his water, he was quick to demand his questions. A few days had already passed since the crash. His plane had entered their airspace but any of ground attempts at connection were jammed. From what they could ascertain, the cause of the plane's malfunction was in the controls themselves. Somehow a flurry of all sorts of signals had sent the entire system to overload and the engines overheated.

"And that's all we have, sir," the empire worker in front of him concluded. "We prioritized healing you first."

"With all due respect sir, why were you flying over here?" The second human asked. "We rarely get anyone flying over, other than transfers and the Great Leader himself."

Ivan tilted his head, "I...I...sent over notifications with the highest Morality Officer here…"

"I am that officer sir."

He clutched at his head. The man was certain that he had all the documentation readied, as hastily as it had been. No one risks countering protocol. Yet...it had been unexpectedly quick to set up the plane for his flight, now that he thought back on it. Even for those like him, it should've taken at least an entire day. Ivan had been so furious and exhausted that he had been oblivious to this inconsistency.

"That...can't be right," he insisted.

The two humans exchanged a saddened look but neither pressed further to argue with him. Instead, they offered to leave him alone some more until he recollected himself. He was left staring at the far pale red wall as he tried to process his situation.

If his human opponent was capable of masking his location, to the point of even impressing Alfred, then it was possible that they had orchestrated all the things that led him up to here. However, all Ivan could distinctly remember about the crash was the hazmat figure. Ivan rubbed at his head again as he grew more and more frustrated with himself.

Knowing that it was pointless to keep forcing it, Ivan took a couple deep breaths and let it go. Out of habit, his hand went to heart to see if it was still beating. Had it not survived the crash, it would have taken months to recover and he would've lost his only defense against the Empire's brainwashing. Was this luck, or on purpose?

Whoever he was facing, had extensive knowledge on the nations. It sent his mind in a whirl of confusion. Whatever. He shook his head and pulled back his covers. Burn marks and scars disfigured his legs completely, but at least they were completely whole again. Hesitantly, he turned his feet around, wincing a little. Looks like he wouldn't be walking for few hours, perhaps more.

Ivan fell back into his soft hospital bed and turned to lie on his side. On a little side table someone had placed all of his survived belongings. Surprise, surprise. His device that contained the Madman's journal was among them. His crash had been planned out right down to the miniscule details.

He let out a sigh. He was through fighting against it. His eyes squinted at the overbright screen as it turned on. However, instead of the desktop he had expected, the face of the Empire popped up.

The blond focused his eyes on him, "Oh, you're awake!"

"Ra-Canada!" Ivan quickly saluted the screen.

The blond looked down at him with bored eyes, "What, may I ask, are you doing on the mainland?"

He scrunched up his face in confusion, "Your orders."

"Hm, I don't recall allowing such a thing to happen. I'm more prone to believe that you took this case into your own hands while I was preoccupied...You aren't trying to save Alfred again, are you?"

"No!" Ivan took a step forward, "It was in the agenda sent to me a few days ago."

Canada let out a snort of doubt, "I'll check system archives." The man turned his head to another screen and began typing away.

"It should match up."

"You sound nervous."

He shook his head in denial. This couldn't be happening; Mistakes like this would only bring consequences to Alfred. Ivan had been working so hard to get out of here, but in truth, he should've never went in the first place.

After a little scanning, the blond lit up and focused back on him, "It has my signature but I don't recall signing this. There's also another for your presence in the Primary District. Congratulations, you've perfected the skill of forgery...perhaps I've given you too many of the right tools to work with, hmm..."

"No! Someone else must be framing me and sent me here! I have no personal reason for being here. Ask your brother himself, you know he will not lie to you!"

The other hummed and relished Ivan's distressed expression. It always angered the older nation how little effort the Rat seemed to put into his manipulation. When he was only like the rest of them, the blond had always faded out while his brother took the center stage of the world, completely satisfied with working in the background.

Nothing had changed about the man since 'The Disaster'. There was still a timid-like nature to him and his voice was somehow still soft spoken, despite its ability to order people around now. Yet, he somehow used that to his advantage. It became undeniably natural to let your guard down around him and his tone for his words was never in your face. They felt like the words of your closest confident, stabbing you in the back. It was an attack that you could never completely defend yourself against. It was hard to make an enemy out of Canada and it aggravated Ivan to no end.

"You're right. I have already asked Alfred and he does vouch for you...though he's a little 'upset'..."

"What did you tell him!?" He jolted straight up and widened his eyes.

"Nothing, nothing." The other smiled, "but I would suggest that you come back to Europe as soon as you've healed."

"You _rat_."

Canada smiled at that insult. "I'd like to remind you a little something. Let's see the record since you've been here. Oh...Hm. Now Ivan, you were the one dealing with interrogations?"

"Yes."

"The clean-up crew was active on all of them...and...hm...you also have reported certain building checks. I hate to ask, but you ordered to check inside yourself, first. Why was that?"

He swallowed hard but couldn't find it in himself to speak.

"Please, answer the question. Why did you order this?"

"To kill all the humans inside before the gas could get to them."

The other hummed, "So...you know who you killed then? Like the dancer? The little child?"

"Yes." His mind cruelly brought forth a few images as he replied. He couldn't help but shiver at his own actions.

"So you will have to agree that if there is any sort of ' _rat'_ in this empire, it will have to be you. _I_ have a great purpose that simply requires these sacrifices. You only want to selfishly keep your precious lover alive."

"...because the fact that he's your brother doesn't matter," he muttered.

Canada pretended not have heard it, or maybe he really didn't care, "Get better soon. I have a dozen different tasks for you back here and then we'll forget all about this event. Okay?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"As FUCKING IF-" A voice jumped in and another window entered their chat, pushing Canada to the side. It was a pitch black picture for moment then a picture of the hazmat figure appeared, "Hey, Not-Canada! Remember me?"

The look on the Rat's face was priceless. Ivan made sure to put it to memory, possibly start every draft of his with Canada in this expression rather than that disgusting smile. The blond's shocked face soon twisted into complete rage and fury.

"You!-BZZZZZT!" Canada's screen suddenly shut down.

"And that's how you get rid one of them," The hazmat chirped, stupidly proud of themselves. "He'll take a long while before he gets back on this line."

Ivan rapidly blinked in disbelief. Hazmat person didn't wait.

"You. Yeah, I'm the fucker who crashed your plane. Hey, do me a favor and read that damn document that I sent you."

Ivan looked up blankly at the ceiling for a moment, then looked back at the screen. Then he placed the device down and pulled at his covers. Nope. It was getting way too confusing at this point, definitely had to be part of a dream.

"HEY!" The hazmat figure screamed. "I didn't pull out all the stops just to get you to fucking ignore me! You want to destroy the Empire or have you lost all nation dignity already?"

Ivan groaned, "Nation dignity...how do you know stuff like this, human."

"Why do you assume I'm human?"

"There is no nation alive capable of countering Canada at this level, otherwise he would have employed you or killed you already. Or, of course, I am dreaming...in which goodbye dream, nice talking with you."

"Unless, you know, I'm from another fucking universe?"

"Wha-" He rolled over and picked up the device again. He was unsurprised that the document now shared the screen.

"Read. It."

"FINE!"

 _I've decided that it would be best that I record our interactions. Matt is calling me a nerd now. He's such a hoser, even if he is me. But not really. Seriously, that's never going to stop being weird..._ _Anyways, I should write down how this whole thing started. Wow, what a day that had been. If only Alfred hadn't ditched all the work on me, then maybe we wouldn't have suffered this experience alone._ _I was helping out Arthur cleaning up that hoard which he calls his pile of very important objects to keep. More like pile of sentimental trash. Is the entirety of Europe this bad? He's kept tax receipts from forever ago. Why? To quote: "Just in case." I hope I don't get this bad when I'm an older nation._ _Off topic again...whoops. I was moving around the boxes in the attic to carry them out and that's where I found this mirror. It was covered by a heavy cloth and I accidentally bumped into it. That's when I met Matt._ _I wish I could write down that I was totally okay with seeing him upon first sight. No. I screamed. Actually, on second thought it might've been better than Alfred wasn't there. Never mind that, it was the eeriest image I had ever seen._ _The reflection showed another version of myself except with all the things I wish I could be but weren't. Seeing Matt for the first time, all I could think of was that he was moose-bear hybrid in human form. All of him screamed burly woodsman that would kick your ass, while looking cool in his sunglasses._ _Having heard me from below, Arthur came rushing up and was equally spooked that I had touched the mirror. He gave me a scolding and covered the mirror up again with haste. From his explanation, the mirror was infected with some cursed magic that he had yet to undo. At the time, I shrugged it off, since I personally doubted his acclaimed magical abilities. I love him like family, but he should really stop trying to look cool. He sews in his spare time and he should accept that he is approaching that old man age._ _Not asking further was a mistake and when this other me had invaded every single mirror I owned, it was too late. I fell for him._

He paused at the sentence. This excerpt had taken an odd turn from what he expected, but he continued to read on.

 _I guess that sounds narcissistic to say that. After all, I did say he was me...but he's still kinda not. I don't know how to explain it. It's like finding a person with all the coolest qualities you admire and at the same time they know you like the back of their hand._ _He's just so…._

Ivan began to skim quickly to get through all the gushing admiration. All the following entries were more recounts with even more love-sick fawning. It was annoyingly boring to get through.

"I certainly hope you do not wish for me to analyze the Rat's relationship or something," Ivan said aloud, knowing that the other could hear him.

"Nah," The hazmat figure popped on the screen again, "But now that I know you read it. Skip to page 73, that's where it gets to the point."

"You could've-" Ivan choked on his words as he gave an exhale of utter exasperation. There was no use fighting it.

The other laughed, "Love to tease."

Ivan raised his eyebrow at the others tone, unable to place why it was somewhat familiar.

 _I can't believe the world had lost knowledge of this. All this time...Now I have so much more power...Imagine! Why was I so content with sitting in this sloth-like state, waiting for others to carry the torch towards progress? Matt and I can fix all the mistakes of the past and make the perfect future. All their technologies will be ours and ours will be theirs. Everything can be changed, all of reality can be made boundless. First, let's change-"_

The page was torn at this part and the next page was almost completely blank until the bottom. It was so tiny and light, Ivan had to squint to make out the letters to understand it.

 _Help me. This was a mistake…I'm so sorry, Matt. I'm so, so, sorry._

"He was caught with an extreme ideal…" Ivan whispered in realization.

Nations were often very neutral about the sides of arguments since they were expected to embody a balanced representation of their people. Of course, there is a bit of ambiguity when it came down to their own personal opinion. It took a little mental acrobatics to find their stances. However, when it came down to extremities, if not outright rejected these became infectious. On human terms, it was difficult to describe ideals likened to germs but that was how it was for the nations.

As well, like their biological health, some nations had a strong enough will to endure more extremes than most. Those who had suffered a case of delusion before were also more immune themselves. As Ivan thought back on the Rat's history, that peaceful bit almost apathetic lull had not been a good defense for whatever he was suffering through. Ivan had lived long enough to see what nations became when consumed by that singular nation-killing disease.

"Ain't it explaining a lot?"

Ivan nodded but held no sympathy towards Canada. Infected or not, his cruelties could not be ignored and he had to take a certain amount of pleasure from it to get this far. Reasoning was not an excuse for the blond's devious actions, or even Ivan's own for following under him.

"Thunder thighs saw it too."

"Thunder-" He squinted the shadowed figure that now took up the entirety of his screen. "Who are you?"

Then, the other person raised their pitch a little higher and dropped their odd accent, "Russia, don't you recognize me?"

Ivan blinked for a while for it to process but the clues were all there, "You are Alfred's mirror version."

The figure turned on the light in the room as they removed their suit. As the webcam adjusted, their features became more clear. He was the exact opposite coloring of Alfred but identical facial features. What should be shining blonde hair was a dirty reddish-brown. His skin was significantly darker. He had a couple piercings on him and he smirked to show that he was missing one of his front teeth. Like the Rat had noted, the mirror version were complete opposites.

There was an odd shine to the individual and Ivan noticed that he was made up of several facets of mirrors, all melded onto a skeletal figure, giving the illusion of an actual person standing there. That had to be part of Alfred's work. How much of his beloved's madness was part of this? Was this why he needed to wipe his own memory so thoroughly?

"Like what you see?" The other teased with a wink.

"No."

The other Alfred rolled his dark red eyes, "Whatever. So, hey, now that we've found middle ground. How'd you like the crash? That bit was all mine."

"How did you knock out the pilots?"

"Nothing like a little knock out gas in the air conditioning."

No wonder Ivan had been unable to reach them. He glared at the other with what he knew was hypocritical disapproval. The reddish-brown haired man snickered in return and a shrug.

"I don't give a shit about humans or whatever. I'm doing this for my brother."

"This Matt, yes?"

The grin dropped and then nodded solemnly, "Got caught with the same shit yours did. He rants only about the merging."

"...Merging…you mean he's planning to do that with our universes?" The other nodded.

"Fucking right. We've all told him that it's insane but he's so stuck on making it happen. Don't ask me how...but he's got the humans building some sort of machine or something. He's even got some kind of power or something...they're eating his bullshit words up and doing whatever he says. Shit, man. Shit. And now we've gotta meddle with the humans business to keep him controlled and that's a headache in itself. This is why I'm an anarchist."

Ivan's eyebrows shot up at his proclamation...for a nation to be against forms of government...impossible. That was as if denying their own existence itself. He was about to point this out but the other cut him off.

"I need you to fix your world to fix mine and that starts with you visiting The Mirror itself."

"And Canada?"

"Won't be a problem. I've been prepping for this day since porkchops got slain in the brain. I'll explain when you get there."


	6. Never, I said

Yellow hues painted the snow where Ivan walked as he carried his lantern. He chuckled again as he gave the outdated light source in his hand another glance. How nostalgic. Underneath a starless blanket, he trekked across the white tundra with the face of a masked thief. In a way, he really was. Every begrudging step he took forward, he stole a footprint's worth of land back temporarily. This was Canada's lands after all. His eyes narrowed to get some glimpse of his destination ahead and frowned. In his ears, the other Alfred continued to encourage him to take another mile.

"You better make this worth my time."

"Heh. Take that up with your precious 'beloved'."

Ivan tightened his lips. He wondered about the state of that man. Who knows what Canada might be telling him? Alfred could be having another panic attack. Ivan's chest tightened at the thought, at the imagined upon that dear face.

Should he even be listening to this other version of Alfred? Ha. The man shook away his cloud of doubts. He hadn't been given much of a choice, anyways. All he could do was to push through.

Disinterested by the bareness of his path, he opted to watch the swaying lights of the lantern at his side. It lulled him into a trance-like state. He blocked out the gentle winds playing around him and the chill that bit his skin. Light danced upon the crystalline fractals and his mind danced with them. Step. Step.

Time spanned out, like a baker rolling out dough, pressing each moment thin and evening it out. Except for the occasional mutter from his earpiece, Ivan had nothing but this eternal winter. There once had been a general that marched beside him during these times. But no. Even spirits cleared well away from the Great Leader's lands.( Or perhaps no spirits lived in this universe...)

In his childhood days, he had once been sure this was how he would perish. Born to the cold, soon to die to the cold, as if his life owed something to its torturer. Yet, somehow this felt different. As forced as the journey had been, somehow eagerness began to excite his heart.

Then, there it was.

A mirror, outdoing a few luxury level 4 buildings in height, jutted out of the ground. Gold plated its frame like fish scales. A small concrete staircase humorously sat at its bottom. It only grew in its impressive size as Ivan approached it.

"This is the mirror Matthew mentioned in his journals."

"Something this size would have never fit in England's attic."

"Oh no. Just add a bit water, sunlight and BAM! It grows just like any other fucking mirror-"The man cut himself off, "What else do you think? Trans-dimensional communication ain't any more far-fetched than magic, and guess what we're doing right now?"

Ivan couldn't argue any further. He craned his neck high as he now stood a few feet away from the steps. The mirror itself reflected nothing interesting. Besides its impressive size and design, the mirror seemed plain.

Nevertheless, Alfred's other version seemed antsier here and told him to hurry up the steps. He shrugged and did as he was told. Without a warning, the moment he took a step to the first step and looked ahead, his heart seized up with the scorching strength of a nuclear bomb, and _throbbed_. His knees cracked from the force of his fall. It felt as though a thousand mini knives had begun swimming around in his blood stream.

"I…van…"

The pain disappeared. He looked up. Floating an inch away from the reflective glass, a pair of blue eyes smiled at him. Ivan knew better. This was just a hologram, an impressive one, but fake as always. Yet, somehow the face, the image of this person, still managed to pull out a gasp from his throat. He dropped his lantern.

"Alfred…"

The blond's face looked ragged from a lack of sleep. Ivan knew this look well. These were during the times where he couldn't even get a sentence out of the man. The blond in the holographic recording swallowed and Ivan did the same.

"If you're seeing this, then my other self has successfully brought you here and the plan will be coming together soon. It also means, Canada has won and I've been left with no choice. Before I go on, I should say one thing… Ivan, I am deeply sorry for everything.

A statue stood in Ivan's place as his mind blanked.

"Okay, I've left you waiting long enough. As I am talking to you, I've finally gotten leaps ahead on my work with the Brain Downloading hardware. Not only can I remove memories, but I can implant false ones as well. They aren't very strong and the subject can easily reject them, but the effect does cause hesitance and confusion. While I have gotten nowhere with this particular tangent, I've come across something surprising in the process.

"By causing particular gaps in the mind, I can isolate certain memories to be untraceable by my own software. Subjects require triggers to reach this memory, however, it does provide another barrier of defence. You can subconsciously implant a series of tasks for the subject to carry out, then hide this series from both the subject and anyone who tries to look over their brain. The subject will be unaware of their motivation behind carrying out these tasks and will simply carry them out.

"This is where I've come up with my trump card. Throughout this war, Canada has had a habit with stealing my systems. Without a doubt, once he's won, my technologies become his. I'll make that his undoing."

Alfred let out a small laugh, "To be honest, I had no idea where to start. This is where the 'other me' came in. I'm sure you've read through Canada's journals. It's strange right? Another universe? What's up with that? Anyways, I've been talking with this 'other me' for a while now. I thought I was just going crazy but I came across those journals in a test raid with a drone squad.

"Both of us have agreed that the sure-fire way to prevent this merging would be destroying the very source of our connection. This mirror."

The hologram gestured towards it and floated down. The face disintegrated to form a body right in front of Ivan. The man had to take a step back to give the hologram some space.

"That won't end the war though…not if Canada's been infected by an ideal. He'll destroy us all. I have got to neutralize his power first. Once he reaches total empire status, his regeneration power will be too powerful to kill him by conventional methods. Not only that, his already brainwashed population needs to be re-conditioned. I won't be able to do any of this unless I'm right beside him. While working for him, I can prepare for his assassination.

"I have already coded the instructions into myself. I call the plan 'Negative Mushroom Cloud'. I've developed microscopic cybernetic spores that will attack and eat nation flesh on contact. Regeneration cannot make something from nothing. They must be released in an air-sealed area or else we risk creating a brand new unstoppable disease. Once he's out, the spores will trigger the next step. Without their nation, his citizens will feel incredibly lethargic. I have set up a year-long broadcast to air then and remind them who they were. That should at least re-inject humanity over there. After that…there's the mirror. The mirror must be destroyed on both sides, at the same time, or else we risk the portal re-opening. He'll get the signal with the broadcast.

"With this, we can end Canada's reign. Now…for the trigger for the spores. I've left that with you."

Ivan put on puzzling look. The holograph laughed as if he saw it.

"You're totally confused, aren't you? You totally are Ivan, don't worry. It's one of my encoded instructions after all. I won't fail to give it you. " Ivan's hand moved slowly to his chest, as if a magnetized to his heart. His eyes widen.

"I'm going to erase all of my memories from the moment we have arrived here. That way, Canada will suspect even less from me. When the right moment comes, you will hit the switch." Alfred's hologram winked, "Right, babe?"

A dozens questions cleared up from Ivan's mind. He felt so dizzy that he staggered forward a little. The hologram pulled something off screen and then showed him. It had been the device that stole Alfred away from him.

As Ivan regained his breath, Alfred voice spoke again as he stared at the device in his hands. "You know, I've never been more frightened by anything more than now, more than any ghosts." He looked to the screen. "I'm scared. I'm leaving you with whatever I become after this…I'm leaving you to face my brother on your own. Who will I possibly become? Ivan, I'm so scared."

With a defeated crash, the device slipped from the blond's hands, "I can't do it now. He hasn't won yet." A hysterical laugh overcame him, "He hasn't won yet. I have so much more to get done. He hasn't won yet."

The blond then collapsed onto his knees, and stared into the camera, into Ivan, into a future that the blond dreaded would come. The tremble of his body, the grit of his teeth, the shut eyes which contained an endless sky of possibilities, all of it sent a cracking spear to the core of Ivan's heart. Stupidly, absolutely stupidly, Ivan reached to the holographic tears on the recorded image. He sobbed alongside his beloved.

He didn't know how long he stood there after the hologram fizzled out.

A few minutes later, the other Alfred—Allen as he insisted to be called rather than the 'other Alfred'-filled him in to the current phases of the plan. Most of the steps had been relayed to him and he had been the one who kept updating it through the years. Since the brunet's form was clunky and couldn't just pop into the empire without attention, he had spent years befriending free-mind humans within the two districts.

Human will could never be completely stamped out. For a select few, no matter the science, absolutely nothing would move them. Al watched for these individuals. Hid them. Helped. Persuaded them to his side. He found that through gentle and persistent pushing, it was also possible to pull out the free minds within others.

Nine hundred. Nine hundred out of several billion: Freed. Fifty of those were children born from individuals who had been freed. Two out of those fifty, were grandchildren. Three generations. Ivan jolted in shock when he was asked about what he was smiling about. The man had once feared he would forget how to do so genuinely.

"District 1 actually has the bigger chunk of the freed population," Allen continued. "However, it's the most hostile for free-minds. Hell, being a fucking blank is the only safest thing to be over there."

"It is expected. The rat must be the toughest close to home."

Allen laughed, "You would think that, wouldn't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"The problem lies in how gentle and slack he's kept the place. A world take over highly benefits them and who wants to give up Utopia for others? Nah, I only say it's hostile since they either become traitors or some family man knocks his head off for threatening the safety of their little perfect world. And, get this, then those people are actually _arrested_. They punish ALL crimes in District 1, you know?"

"A light tap on the wrist, I presume?"

"Nah. One of my groups there got someone else in prison."

Ivan rubbed at his head, "But…if those dissenting are brought justice then won't their voices be heard?"

"Ah, but you forget about the Ideal that infected their nation representation. They're absolutely indifferent to all dissenting voices. Humans can be swayed by so many things, Ivan. Right becomes wrong, wrong becomes right. I thought you were a nation."

"Ha…I guess I have stop being one for a very long time," Ivan conceded.

Allen continued to explain the intricate system he had been managing. Both districts were leaps and bounds in their technology. Free minds under his care had already set up a secure underground H.Q, something like a mini-city. Routes branched out all across the continent, making it possible to get from one end to the other without being detected.

Survive and Increase. Stay hidden. That was the motto Allen had given these humans. The humans Ivan had been called to exterminate were unassociated free minds. Lucky chances. He had contacted only a few them. Each of those individuals died oblivious that they had not been alone.

It was cruel. It was necessary. Nothing more than what's expected from the nations.

And it was on that tangent that Allen told Ivan what he had to do. As a near figurehead in the Maple Empire, searches for Ivan would be ceaseless. They needed to stop looking right off the bat.

* * *

Half an hour later, Ivan found himself surrounded by a blockade of laser bazookas. He gulped. Right now, he stood at the front entrance of one of District 1's city, after a long trek through the freezing landscape again. Orders had been made for his execution upon sight. The Rat already knew what Ivan had chosen to do. The wielders of the weapons shocked him. From their lackluster attire, they appeared to only be citizens, as if merely called onto jury duty for that day.

He stifled a laugh at the sight of the tiny ant line dotting the bottom of a city landscape. They stood only a field away from each other. With the wind against his back, his voice carried well. His mind retreated back to his earlier instructions from Allen.

 _Don't worry your little lard butt. You're going to be right on top of a drop door. It's something we've been using to perform successful raids for years. All you have to do is attract the Rat's attention and wait for the landing._

The Great Rat had appeared on all of the screens of adjacent billboards and buildings as the citizens charged up each of their weapons.

"You have fooled me, Ivan."

Alfred's screams continued wailing in the background. Ivan's heartbeats sounded just as deafening. He had forgotten about this consequence. He gripped at the fabric within his pockets to prevent himself from digging into his own skin. He steadied his breathing as best he could. He let the rat continue, biding his time.

"I really thought you loved him."

"Love is not something you would ever understand, Rat."

The tyrant raised his eyebrows, "Oh. This coming from the nation whose heart hates its own body."

"Enough!" he shouted as he turned his back, already feeling smothered from the many weapons pointed at him.

"IVAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD NEVER LEAVE ME!" Alfred screamed off screen.

Ivan's breathing hitched. "Enough," he croaked. He kept his back turned.

As the weapons fired at him, the snowy ground beneath fell away as he had expected. He watched the lasers spread above him, bars to a cage that he had finally escaped. Then, the roof clamped up and Ivan turned to the robot made out of reflective mirrors. The other Alfred rolled his eyes and gestured him to follow. Flashes of red dots guided their path as they made their way further down the tunnel.

"I need a mask," Ivan announced to break their silence. "I need to stay 'dead' in the eyes of the system."

"You'll need to create that yourself, but I can get some humans to steal around for your supplies."

Ivan hummed his thanks. Even if this other Alfred claimed indifferent to humans, he had saved quite a number of them. This other universe intrigued Ivan and he grew curious to know more about this other Alfred, even if he wasn't the one he wanted. It had been a while since he had kept non-brainwashed company.

"Do you and your own Russia…know each other?"

He shrugged, "I haven't seen the guy in, what, half a century. We aren't really forced to socialize with each other. Who knows where he is now…"

"And your human bosses-"

"Human Bosses!? Pffft. A handful of presidents haven't even met me! I've been escaping politics since I was old enough to walk, not gonna stop now. You know, I always burst out laughing whenever I get these world meeting announcements."

"You have world meetings? I thought-"

"Are we desperate and we know it? Clap your hands!" The reddish-brunet gave two dead claps. "We created these meetings in response to 'The Disaster'. Can't imagine how you handle these things on your flip-side."

Ivan shook his head at the other's complaints. Or perhaps, that lack of care to human lives, made their hearts invulnerable to the massive deaths and murders. Perhaps mountains of paperwork was the greatest pain they could ever feel. He envied them.

"…So, I have been meaning to ask, why place the mirror in 'Old Alaska'?"

"You heard of the disappearances near the Bermuda Triangle?"

"Yes. But what does that-"

"It has everything to do with it. You see there are various theories as to what happens in that area of the world. Alien abductions, a warp hole to send you back in time…or perhaps a portal to another universe?"

"We're connected to the Mirror Universe that way?"

"Yes. In your case, it's the Bermuda Triangle. In ours, it's what you continue to call 'Old Alaska'. The 'Disaster' was a failed attempt at merging." Ivan stopped walking and gawked at the other, "My dumb as shit family broke his door in time, interrupting his end of the ritual."

Ivan nodded and chewed on this knowledge. They took a sharp left turn and Ivan could see light down the tunnel. He could hear voices and his nerves rose in anticipation. Were these humans on Allen's side or Maple Empire troops that have found the underground tunnel system? Allen gave him a side glance and laughed.

"Paranoid~"

Ivan steeled his gaze ahead as he waited for faces to match the voices. No matter what he ran to his head, it couldn't have prepared him for the sight that unveiled itself. His jaw slackened as he stepped before the H.Q.

A drill-shaped structure spiraled downwards as buildings lined its surface. Brick-layered edges jutted the encasing sides and steel bridges connected them to the central part. The group of people would've been sparse for an average city, but for a rebel group, this was massive.

Everyone seemed equipped with…hover boots? He couldn't quite figure out a proper name for them. This must've been District 1 technology. Again, leaps and bounds to anything in Europe, to anything in District 2. He doubted even Alfred had been aware of these.

"Those boots have stolen from the above district, yes?" He asked as the robot led him to a bridge. They walked across it and Ivan peered down. A few teens were playing tag in the air.

"No. These people built those themselves."

"There are inventors here?"

"Geniuses."

Ivan straightened himself, "Where are we going?"

"I need to make sure you have the other you under control."

Before Ivan could press further, they stopped in front of a door. Allen tapped on it and a beady-eyed man peered out. He grinned and led them in.

A bizarre collection of goods greeted them as they dove further in. Most of the place had been decorated by grotesquely designed masks. The rest appeared to be supernatural knickknacks. Ivan could make out an anarchy symbol painted on a few of them and he shivered upon passing them, as if death had caressed his hand.

Another mirror awaited him. Allen watched him expectantly and he looked expectantly back. The brunet rolled his eyes and told him to call for his other self. Ivan sighed and stared back at the mirror.

"Hello?"

Another brunet, this time of his own features, appeared before him. He looked sickly, ragged, and black rims enveloped his eyes. His other self then grimaced and brought a bottle of beer to his lips. Ivan painted a smile on his face and tilted his head curiously. Beer. Really? He wished he had his pipe with him to smash the mirror to bits.

"Oh, it's you."

"Well, it is nice to meet you, 'other me'."

The mirrored figure grunted. "What do you want?"

 _Rude._ Ivan tightened his smile. "I have a deal to make with you." A couple of flashcards were shoved into his hands. He read them quickly then tossed them away. "Stay out of my business."

"That sounds more like an order."

"You may see it that way."

Several minutes of staring passed, that bored expression nearly cracked Ivan's nerves. Then suddenly the bottle was thrown to the ground with a loud crash, "God, you are annoying!" The figure stood taller. "Listen. If I benefit, then I will do what I please. You may be the other version of myself but I do not take orders. Wipe that smile off your face. It is disgusting."

Allen then stepped beside him, "You listen here bub. We all agreed to take down Matt, so you've got to start pulling your weight. Don't make me send your sisters after you."

"Pffft. Sisters. Why should they matter to me?"

Ivan flinched and his smile fell, "You dare say that with _my_ voice?"

His mirror image ignored him and leaned over to the right to pull out another bottle, "You waste your breath here. I have not been able to even peer into your world until now."

"You can't peer into this world? Why?"

"I do not know. I think the England on their side had attempted something."

"My side?" Ivan put his hand to his chin, "He was killed very early on…"

"Maybe you aren't putting enough effort into it, you lout." Allen jeered. Ivan snapped his head to his side. He could detect an ulterior motive hidden underneath that mocking tone. Still, it felt like an insult directed at both of them.

"Hm."

Then the mirror image Ivan in front of them disappeared for a second. Ivan was about to call out again, but the other had already returned, more sullen looking than ever. His face stopped frowning.

"I cannot access anywhere else."

"That…shouldn't be."

Allen never received a response and the image on the mirror disappeared, for good. Ivan hummed and waited for the other to move again. For the first time worry painted the other's face.

"This…is odd. Ivan, what kind of person was your England?"

Ivan hummed for a minute, "Stubborn. Annoying. Bothered me too much with all his dark magic…"

"HE COULD DO DARK MAGIC!?" the robot grabbed at Ivan's collar, "FUCK! Why didn't thunder-thighs tell me?"

"One. He is dead. Two. His death is a sore spot for Alfred. We do not bring it up."

This only made Allen groan more. "No wonder your Spain has been making the most contact with my side the universe."

"Spain? What relation does this have?"

"How long ago has it been since Spain has been captured on your side?"

"A few years now, Alfred had been supplying him weapons before we had lost. He was defeated when we fell."

"Spain, as he has told us, fled over through the Bay of Biscay and snuck into the British Isles while the Maple Empire forces remained focused in his home territory. He hoped to recover some particulars from England's home to bring Canada back to his senses. He was an optimistic type."

Ivan nodded, "Has he also been helping you?" He had never seen Spain among the department heads.

"Nah, he switched sides a while back. He's got this whole different crazy thing going on. It's the troublesome Italies on this side. They've been talking to him."

"Is he a problem?"

"Dunno, yet. You will have to watch for him. It is certain now, he found something interesting in England's home…At least we do not have to worry about your other self."

"I see."

With another curse sputtered from Allen, they exited the shop. As they did so though, Ivan quickly requested for a simple white mask from the beady man. It would work for a simple base. The human grinned and told him to return in two days. In his head, Ivan locked away a checklist of modifications he needed to add.

As they walked further down the spiral, the brunet explained that he had to recharge the batteries of this robot. They were going to his room, where he charge and continue talking about the plan.

Allen's "room", more like a closet really, appeared more spacious that it actually was. The mirrors that plastered walls created that illusion. A single chair was in there, for visitors only. He felt all the bones in his body crack as he sat down while they relaxed from their intense day. Ivan asked Allen if there were any other nations on their side. When he got a response that only he was crazy enough to invest himself in the 'Negative Mushroom Cloud'. Allen's expression darkened as Ivan further pressed for his motive. The room became colder and even smaller.

"I have to bring Matt back."

"But are you even sure that this plan will bring your Matt back?"

"Your fake Canada was the one who originally caught the ideal. Cutting his influence might free my own Matt. "

"You would bet your entire existence on a may or may not possibility?"

"Hey, it's still a 'may'."

The certainty of that chipped grin echoed, a sense of hope that Ivan thought he would never see in anyone again. In retrospect, he ended up being wrong twice.

* * *

It has been over fifteen years since he left the empire. So far, none of his set-ups had all the necessary conditions. He needed Canada to be held down, already well-beaten and all of those guards around him too. He needed the tyrant at a disadvantage first, not at his prime.

Ivan sighed. As he turned the corner, a young lady bumped into him. She uttered no apology and didn't even bother to help him up. As his mask detected her, as a mere human of level 3 standards…he recognized the face. As she dashed off, chased by an ever merry parade of I.C.U droids, it was clear that she hadn't even noticed him. He knew then, that plan would be coming to an end soon.

It would be a three years later that he would save her life.

* * *

A/N: Continued in "How She Remembers"


End file.
